MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at
Those present were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Vice-Chairman
Also present were: Communications
Officer
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance. He recognized
OVERVIEW OF ANIMAL ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS
Process
·
Staff
drafted revisions in May
·
Reviewed
by Animal Services Committee in July
·
Staff
revised based on public input and Committee comments
·
Re-reviewed
by Animal Services Committee in October with focus on spay-neuter section
·
Presented
to Board of Commissioners in November
Summary of Revisions and Additions
·
Definitions
·
Public
Nuisance
·
Rabies
Vaccination
·
Mistreatment
·
Purpose
·
Role
of Animal Services Committee
·
Dangerous
Dog
·
Enforcement
·
Livestock
Article – NEW
·
Spay-Neuter
Program – NEW
Ms. Zambon explained
that a lot of these changes were just clarifications or based on problems that
Animal Services or the Sheriff’s Office had seen in regard to animals.
Non-Substantive Changes
·
Definitions
S66A-1 (p.1-5)
·
Public
Nuisance S66A-8 (p.7-8)
·
Mistreatment
of Animals S66A-11 (p. 13-14)
·
Rabies
Vaccination S66A-51 (p. 22-23)
Clarifying Role of Animal Services
·
Purpose
S66A-2 (C) (p.5)
-
Protect
the public
-
Prevent
Abuse
Based
on State Law
·
Role
of Animal Services Committee S66A-3 (p.5)
-
Makes
recommendations on Ordinance,
Revision of Enforcement Measures
·
Dangerous
Dog Provisions S66A-10 (p. 8-13)
·
Impoundment
S66A-14 (p. 15-16)
·
Relinquishment
S66A-15 (p. 17)
·
Violations
and Penalties S66A-19 (p. 17-20)
·
Livestock
Section S66A-94 (p. 33-34) This section is new and is based on problems that
the Sheriff’s Department has seen. It is
also based on State Law and what other local ordinances do regarding livestock.
Spay-Neuter Program S66A-59 (p. 27-30)
·
Applies
to: Cats and Dogs 4 months old and older (p. 27)
·
Three
Components
-
Outreach, Education and Assistance (p. 28)
-
Adoptions
(p. 27)
-
Enforcement
(p. 29)
·
Exemptions
(p. 29)
-
Law
enforcement
-
Service
Animals
-
Herding/Guarding
-
Hunting
breeds
-
Show
dogs
-
Medically
unreasonable
Spay-Neuter Outreach, Education and Assistance
·
Outreach
and Education: Advocacy, special events, and education by
Animal
Services Officers
·
Assistance:
Vouchers, boarding and partnership with Humane Alliance
Spay-Neuter Program: Adoptions
·
Adoptions
and Fosters (p. 27)
-
-
Nonprofit
Organizations
-
Requires
proof of alteration
-
No
public giveaways
·
Impoundment
(p. 27)
·
Dangerous
Dogs (p. 28)
Enforcement of the Program
·
Only enforced when there is another existing violation (p. 29)
·
Three
Strikes Policy (p. 29)
-
First Contact: Determination of exemption and education
-
Second Contact: $100 fine
-
Third Contact: Impoundment and alteration
Ms. Zambon stated that
the goal of this program is to focus on the animals that are problematic for
the county and that animal services encounter time and time again. It is not to target against responsible pet
owners. This is similar to what they have in
Questions from the Board
Brad
Rayfield said that the grant is for families with a combined income of $25,000
or less. It has been in effect since July and up to this point we have only
utilized $1,250 of the $10,000 grant that’s renewed annually. He said that we are charged with some
education and outreach in that respect. The grant is sponsored through Pet
Smart.
Q. Commissioner Williams
asked about the livestock portion, stating that focus has been on the
spay/neuter part of it. This is
certainly part of the ordinance as well. Have others had an opportunity to look
at that?
A.
Q. Commissioner Williams
also asked if it had gone before the Agriculture Advisory Committee?
A.
Chairman Moyer stated
that with changes like this it is always good to run it by the proper committee or group that
we have in the county that might be most affected by it, to get their input and
it’s possible that the Animal Services Committee would not have representatives
that are familiar with raising livestock and there might be other points that
would be of value. It might be good to
do that as we move forward.
PUBLIC INPUT
Chairman Moyer stated
that the main purpose of this meeting is to hear public comments. Each speaker will be limited to three
minutes. The purpose of this hearing is specifically on the amendments to the
Animal Regulations and Ordinance. The more specific your comments, the better.
1.
Duncan Fraser – Mr. Fraser is President of the Blue Ridge
Humane Society, which is
2.
Sara Huggins – Ms. Huggins believes that with the current
leash regulation, it is possible for people to have unaltered animals if they
are well cared for. If the proposed ordinance on spay/neuter is to reduce the
number of adoptable animals that are destroyed by the county, then there are
some changes and less invasive, more effective ways that we can accomplish
this. She stated that all the animals released out of the shelter should be
spayed/neutered and micro-chipped so that we can track them. Shelters should
work with the breed specific rescue groups.
These groups are set up to evaluate the individuals over a longer period
of time, make sure that the new home is a forever home where the people know
what to expect with the particular breed that they adopt. For those strays that
are retrieved by their owners, the fee should be very high for intact
animals. It should be high enough to
where if somebody simply has a pet and they haven’t gotten around to it, this
is not an excuse. If they want to
retrieve that animal intact the fee should be double or better what it would
cost them to have that animal fixed. She felt the leash law should be amended
to include cats, stating they make up at least half of the strays in the county
and are a huge environmental blight. She suggested that in this county there be
no pet shop sales of intact dogs and cats.
3.
Meg Paton – Ms Paton has been a member of the Animal
Services Committee for almost three years. She volunteers with local animal
rescue groups and also volunteered at the county shelter. She stated that she
could give 2,527 reasons why we need a strong spay/neuter ordinance, 2,527
animals were killed last year in the county shelter with the majority of those
being adoptable pets including purebreds. The largest group of dogs destroyed
are lab, lab mixes, hounds, and hound mixes. If a spay/neuter ordinance passes
for 2008 it will still take years to show significant results. She favored a
proactive spay/neuter ordinance. She suggested extending shelter hours,
advertising, off-site adoptions, working with breed rescue groups, local rescue
groups and a strong volunteer program. She stated that there is no good reason
not to spay or neuter your pet unless they participate in competitions and
doing so would disqualify them. Having AKC papers does not mean you have a show
dog or that you should breed your dog. She
further stated that there are three local agencies that offer low-cost to
no-cost spay/neuter and the public needs to know these options are available. She
stated that there are too many exemptions and contradictions in the current
ordinance draft. She stated that the package that was presented to the Board of
Commissioners on November 5 was not the package that the Animal Services
Committee approved. She recommended that the entire ordinance go back to the
Animal Services Committee for review.
4.
Mary Cervini – Ms. Cervini is a
5.
Mike Cervini – Mr. Cervini is a resident of
He
proposed the following ideas for the Board’s review: If we all partnership to
promote county-wide aggressive adoptions to augment what we are currently doing
today at the shelter, we will reduce the animals entering the shelter and thus
reduce the costs. He stated that it does work in
He
stated that we also should allow the 501C3s (non-profits or adoption agencies)
to pull from the shelter. There would be a cost avoidance to the shelter and
thus other agencies would help with that cost. The agencies do provide
spay/neuter before adoptions placing the animals in foster homes. The agencies
also all provide required rabies and vaccinations for distemper in dogs and
cats. They all provide testing for heartworm, feline leukemia, and feline aids
and they also ensure all the animals are healthy prior to foster homes and
adoptions. All these 501C3 agencies also
provide animals with micro-chipping. Mr. Cervini stated that affordable
spay/neuter coupled with the aggressive spay/neuter ordinance would let us
achieve progressive animal welfare. All the animals must leave the shelter
spayed/neutered and we need county wide support so the public can take
advantage of the spay/neuter for their animal as stated here tonight. Mr.
Cervini stated that every animal that is spayed means forty less animals on the
average that will be born. That would significantly reduce the number in the
county and thus significantly reduce the number entering the shelter.
6.
Virginia Turner – Ms. Turner addressed the spay/neuter
requirement of the proposed ordinance, Section E. Item one states all dogs and cats in
7.
Susan Nation – Ms. Nation stated that even though it is
alledged that this will only be enforced if there are other concerns, she finds
it difficult to have legislation in the county that she is not in compliance
with. If this is passed, it means she needs to alter her animals. Historically
responsible dog owners have altered their animals, not only for pet population
but because they felt they were medically doing the best thing for their
animal. “However, I have submitted to you documentation that indicates negative
health implications of spay and neutering, especially at an early age. This
abstract is a composition of fifty reviewed veterinary research documents
published by the Animal Science Center of Rutgers University. I ask that you
review it before you make a decision. In
brief I quote ‘The traditional spay/neuter age of six months as well as the
modern practice of pediatric spay/neuter appear to predispose dogs to health
risks that could otherwise be avoided by waiting until the dog is physically
mature or forgoing it altogether unless medically necessary. Across the Board
recommendations for all pet dogs do not appear to be supportable from findings
in the veterinary medical literature. The negative medical implications of
neutering male dogs, if done before one year of age, significantly increase the
risk of osteosarcoma. This is a common cancer in larger breeds with a poor
prognosis. It also increases the risk of cardiac hemangiosarcoma by a risk
factor of 1.6, triples the risk of hypothyroidism, increases the risk of
progressive geriatric cognitive impairment, triples the risk of obesity,
quadruples the risk of prostate cancer, doubles the risk of urinary tract
cancers, increases the risk of orthopedic disorders, and increases the risk of
adverse reactions to vaccinations. The negative implications in female dogs if
done before one year of age, significantly increases the risk of osteosarcoma,
increases the risk of splenic hemangiosarcoma by doubling it, cardiac hemangiosarcoma
by a risk factor of 5, triples the risk of hypothyroidism, increases the risk
of obesity, causes urinary ‘spay incontinence’ in 4–20% of all female dogs,
increases the risk of persistent or recurring urinary infections, doubles the
risk of urinary tract tumors, increases the risk of orthopedic disorders and
increases the risk of adverse reactions to vaccinations. One thing is clear –
much of the spay/neuter information that is available to the public is
unbalanced and contains claims that are exaggerated or unsupported by evidence.
Rather than helping to educate pet owners much of it is contributed to common
misunderstandings about the health risks and benefits associated of spay/neuter
in dogs.’ Please do not put my pet under a required spay and neuter agreement
when research shows it can bring them at health risks. That decision needs to be made between the
individual pet owner and the veterinarian without documenting medical
need. What do we all want? We want
responsible dog owners. That’s responsibility to the community, it’s also
responsibility for me to be an advocate for my own pet.”
8.
Clint Pace – Mr. Pace is with the Appalachian Houndman’s
Association and represents a sporting dog group in the states of North and
9.
Landen Gailey – Ms. Gailey, a resident of
10.
Waverly Sykes – Mr. Sykes is opposed to the spay/neuter
provisions. He is a pet owner. He is retired and has chosen to be a citizen of
11.
Kenneth Workman – Mr. Workman stated that the proposed
legislation, in large measure, rewards the guilty and punishes the innocent but
he commended the Commission and everyone who has worked diligently on this
legislation. We do have a problem. He addressed two specific measures – for
animals that are turned into the animal shelter, people should be encouraged to
anonymously submit the reasons for the forfeiture of their animals. Unless we
understand the problem, we can’t address it. He would like to see strict enforcement
or encouragement of anonymous reasons for forfeiture. He said that he could not
stress education enough. More needs to
be done in the local media on this issue. “As far as low cost or zero cost
spay/neuter, I maintain that you should not have a financial requirement. A lot
of people, quite frankly, are too cheap. Even if it costs them $25.00, they’ll
say I don’t want to spend the 25 bucks. They probably shouldn’t have a pet in
the first place but if it is a free spay/neuter regardless of the financial
situation, (it seems there’s a budget surplus right now anyhow) this might help
in the elimination of unwanted pets. One
other item that I think is perhaps a gap here. You say that there is an
exclusion for show dogs and yet you also say at the age of four months dogs
should be spayed or neutered. Having been around show dogs, you cannot tell at
four months if it’s going to qualify as a show dog. I just pose this as a dilemma that anyone
that shows dogs knows it is an arduous process. There are health requirements,
there are temperament issues. At four months you can’t really st – or you can
state but you don’t have any credibility saying this is a show dog so I think
that is a glaring fault in that show dogs are excluded and yet you spay and
neuter at four months.”
12.
Pat de Lemos – Ms. De Lemos stated that she is a spayed
female. She has no uterus nor ovaries. No doctor has told her that she will
have more cancer or anything else because of her surgery. She was active in
animal work in the 1960s. She stated
that we killed 15,000,000 dogs and cats a year, we got down to 10,000,000, now
we’re euthanizing 5,000,000 dogs and cats throughout the
13.
Nancy Bober – Ms. Bober mentioned that she and a friend of
hers kept finding a stray dog in the neighborhood. They put posters out. They finally found the owners only to find
that they did not want the dog and kept letting it go. Her friend immediately adopted the dog on
Monday, took it in on Friday and had him neutered and micro-chipped and is
hoping to keep him as a very wonderful friend of the family. The first thing he
wanted to do was get the dog neutered because he knew it would cut down on his
wanting to stray when he would smell a female in heat somewhere down the road.
She advised him to do this immediately. She said “it has to be done.”
14.
Pam Hodges – Ms. Hodges stated that she seriously doubted
if anyone in the room had been responsible for an animal ending up in the
shelter. She said that those who aren’t
responsible don’t even know about this hearing. She said that the trick is to
get the word out to those people. It
won’t be an easy job. She said the word
needs to go out to where people of all economic stations hang out: WalMart, the
tag office, the Hispanic Grocery Stores, etc. “If you say to somebody you do
something wrong we’re gonna get you, they’re going to hide and you’re going to
see lower rabies vaccination compliance but if you say to people we’re going to
help you then they’re going to come forward.
When you have your adoption days you can have a rabies clinic. When you
have your adoption days you can have a microchip clinic. Identification is a big problem with shelter
dogs because most people quit looking after one week. Spay/neuter alone is not
going to solve the problem. I keep hearing the word overpopulation. A major
problem is owner retention. If you go out to the shelter and look at the cards
on the doors you see all the reasons that people turned in animals:
destructive, dog digs, dog doesn’t get along, can’t afford dog, landlord won’t
let me keep dog. We need to have
programs in place to help people keep their dogs and we need programs to help
people find out what they need to know before they even get a dog. Secondary
enforcement, I believe, amounts to selective enforcement and exemptions are
subjective. My shepherds keep the coyotes
away… I’m unable to show my dogs right now because of time but does that mean
that they’re less valuable? So I would encourage people to spay/neuter and
don’t threaten them. Remind them that we
have a leash law. If people don’t let their dogs wander, they won’t reproduce.”
15.
Jane Peck – Ms. Peck urged the Board not to accept the
draft ordinance as it stands currently. “Spay/neuter will not result in a
reduced number of animals in the shelters which has been proved in other
areas. I am concerned that trying to
enforce a fine on owners of animals who have been picked up and altered will
cause an abandonment of that animal.
This will cause more crowding and more euthanization to take place.” She also stated that four months is too young
to spay or neuter the animal. It is not
sufficiently mature. There is a great
deal of evidence to show that this will result in problems later in life,
health problems. The decision to spay and neuter should be made between the
owner and his or her veterinarian, not legislated. “I think the best solutions
to our problems are enforcing the laws already on the books such as leash
laws. We should start educating owners
starting in the elementary schools and with continuing education. Making people
aware of the spay/neuter services available in our county through the use of
billboards and radio information, in both English and Spanish since the
majority of these people who are causing the problem don’t read our local
newspaper. I think we should really try to give education and awareness a
chance. Please don’t punish those of us who are responsible and educated dog
owners of which I am one. I try to promote education and responsibility through
the organizations to which I belong. I am a member of Hendersonville Kennel
Club, the Obedience Club of Asheville, Sandlapper Golden Retriever Club,
FootHills Golden Retriever Rescue and Therapy Dogs, Inc. and I started the
Therapy Dog Program here in
16.
Jim Walsh – Mr. Walsh is an active member of the Blue
Ridge Humane Society and he stands in support of mandatory spay/neuter. He
commented that in his opinion we cannot out adopt the overpopulation of
animals. As hard as we try, still the
county puts down a huge number of animals yearly. He stated that the flood of
animals that they get at the Humane Society on a daily basis do not come from
responsible pet owners. He stated that the only way to combat this is a
mandatory spay/neuter. The timing can be
worked out but something has got to stop this flood.
17.
Carol Vaseleski – Ms. Vaseleski stated that the one thing that
bothers her the most about this is she is a dog owner and wants to be a good
citizen and wants to be in compliance with the law but she hears things and
sees things in the proposal that don’t make sense to her. She brought up what she heard earlier – that
this is enforcement driven and there has to be some other animal related
concern before you can go after a dog?
The way she read the previous draft was that there could be any concern
with any part of Henderson County Code and that is a lot different. In other
words “If I’m out driving my car and I’m over the speed limit in the City of
Hendersonville and I happen to have an un-neutered dog with me, the guy that
pulls me over can actually look at me and say you gotta go get that dog
neutered. That makes no sense! Maybe I’m wrong but that’s the way I read the
original draft. Another thing that bothers me is the exemptions because I just
don’t think they’re clear. It’s a nice long list but then at the bottom it says
the burden of proof is on the owner. It
doesn’t tell me what that burden of proof is.
I have a show dog. She’s neutered now because she’s no longer a show dog
but I’m gonna pretend that she wasn’t. I
used to just keep hand written notes of what shows I went to. If I take that into the shelter and say
that’s my show dog, is that going to be accepted? I don’t know. I think if
you’re gonna have exemptions they have to be really clear. I’m just gonna draw
a very quick analogy to the travel industry. There’s a ban on liquids, gels,
and aerosols being carried through checkpoints onto airplanes. There’s an exemption to that ban that says
it’s okay if they’re 3 ounces or less and they all fit within a one quart
plastic bag. It doesn’t say they have to
be small and you get to prove to me whether they’re small or not. It’s very
specific. I can understand it and because it’s specific and I can understand
it, it’s fair to everybody. I might not
like it but it’s fair so please whatever you do, make sure that whatever you
pass is clear enough to be understood by everybody. Look at the education, look at some of the
other things these wonderful people have talked about but make sure it’s fair,
make sure it’s consistent and make sure it’s effective.”
18.
Eileen Wilson – Ms. Wilson stated that statistics show that
approximately half the animals turned into the animal shelter are owner
surrendered, not picked up by animal control nor found on the side of the road. The reasons animals are surrendered include
the owner died, went to a nursing home, went to assisted living, owner is
allergic, owner can’t housebreak them, can’t control them, barks too much,
sheds, etc. This shows that people don’t
realize what responsible dog ownership is. Education is the key. It is very important for people to know what
dog ownership entails. Responsible dog ownership includes keeping your animal
at home, not procreating unless you remain responsible for the offspring,
manners for the animal, and being a good neighbor. Education is a very
important part of dog ownership. If you can find a way to educate people before
they adopt a dog, that would be a very good thing to do. Ms. Wilson also stated that she didn’t
believe the three-strike provision is a good one. She doesn’t believe that all
animals that show up at the shelter need to be spayed or neutered.
19.
Paige Henretta – Ms. Henretta is not a resident of
20.
Shelly Moore – Ms. Moore is a
21.
Tam Cordingley – Ms. Cordingley is not a resident of
22.
Linda Monteith – Ms. Monteith is the Director of the Blue Ridge
Humane Society. She has been with the Humane Society since December of 1995 and
in that time she has been waiting on everybody to become a responsible pet
owner and it hasn’t happened yet. She stated that currently they are always at
capacity. She said that for every animal
that leaves their shelter there are at least twenty waiting to come in its
place. She was at the county shelter
about two months ago and at that time there were at least five female cats with
litters of kittens there. She pulled two
of the cats and litters and took them to their facility. She said every April, by mid April they are
at capacity with kittens. The same thing with puppies. She stated it is a problem. She stated that the current draft ordinance
is too vague. She thinks it should be
clearer. She said something has to be put in place. She said that she is a responsible driver but
it is mandatory that she wear her seatbelt, if it wasn’t she would not be
wearing her seatbelt. She said that she
is so tired of waiting on people to become responsible. She said that our
county shelter is putting down between 3,000 – 4,000 animals a year.
23.
Lee Goldman – Mr. Goldman lives in Flat Rock. Prior to moving here 3 ˝ years ago he spent
almost 40 years living in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. where he
worked for the Federal Government. He knows something about government, having
spent 38 years in
24.
Lisa Beddingfield – Ms. Beddingfield is a member of the Animal
Services Committee. She wished to clarify a few things because a lot of people
have questions about the hunting and the showing exemptions and the burden of
proof. Ms. Beddingfield is a member and the Secretary of the Appalachian
Houndsman Association. She does
competition hunt and shows her hounds. She
has three hounds at her house which are not spayed/neutered. She has two cats which are. She is a
responsible pet owner and if her animals are not able to be competitioned, they
would be spayed/neutered because she is a responsible pet owner. However, the
burden of proof that folks are searching for – if anyone does competition their
animals, agility or any other ways, there are points and levels and grades of
competitions that are awarded to animals at certain points. The AKC is used a
lot. We’re using AKC show dog. They start out as a registered animal. After they achieve so many shows they are
granted a champion status. The next level is a grand champion and the next
level is a supreme grand champion. They
give certificates for each one of these levels where we do have the proof that
we do show our dogs and they are show animals. There are receipts given at
every competition when you place to show that you did receive the points so you
do have a record. You are able to provide the burden of proof under AKC or UKC
rules with the certificates and the classifications that our dog receives. She
just wanted to let folks know that there is a way that animals which are
competitioned under your nationally recognized kennel clubs are able to be
proofed, the burden of proof is there to where we can show that those animals
are used for those purposes.
On
behalf of the Board, Chairman Moyer thanked everyone for coming out and for
sharing their comments. The Board has
received a tremendous amount of good information, some of which is very
contradictory and difficult to wade through.
He suggested to the Board that the Commissioners take under advisement
everything that was heard and was received tonight and put this back on the
agenda for next Wednesday, to give staff some direction as to how to
proceed. The Commissioners were in
agreement.
Adjourn
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to
adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Attest:
Elizabeth
W. Corn, Clerk to the Board
William L. Moyer, Chairman